When the refrigeration guys arrived they agreed the clamp should work. They had to cut off about 6 inches of the clamp so it could fit between other pipes.

Volunteers from the high school hockey team meanwhile had unloaded the salt.

When the calcium chloride first mixes with water it creates heat—raising the temperature to about 90°C.

When they first began to charge the system, the heat was making puddles on the ice surface but then they started adding the salt very slowly to the system.

Harvieux said Wednesday, Oct. 31 they would need another week to get the system fully charged.

Harvieux is grateful for everyone’s help. He says he even had a team ready to make new ice if it had been necessary.

“I’ll tell you if it wasn’t for Kevin there wouldn’t be any ice in Digby right now,” says Harvieux. “He stayed with us the whole time, and so did Justin and Ken.

“It sounds corny but this just shows you one of the things I love about Digby,” says Harvieux. “I made two or three calls and I had all kinds of help here—people here pull together when they have to.”

Harvieux says this is the first time in his 13 years at the rink they have had a pipe break and he isn’t sure what caused it—he says the building might have moved just enough to crack it, and sometimes frost builds up on the pipe and that could have moved it as well.

“It was the worst feeling in the world,” says Harvieux. “I was scared to death. I came to work for 8:30 a.m. Sunday and never went home until Monday at 3:30 p.m. and I didn’t fall asleep until 8:30 that night.”

He says they are confident the clamp will hold for the season and they will fix the leak permanently next spring.

They are also installing metal grates over the pipes so it is easier to keep an eye on any frost forming on the pipes.